Video

Oakland names first ever youth poet laureate

Stephanie Yun, 18, was named Oakland’s first ever youth poet laureate last week. She was honored by Juan Felipe Herrera, California’s poet laureate and a judge for the competition, at the Flor y Canto Festival.

Oakland business owners sound off on economy, medical marijuana, foreign policy

With less than 60 days before Americans vote for President, Oakland North reporters Theresa Adams and Aaron Mendelson asked small business owners on Broadway to deliver a message to the presidential candidates. Click on the video above to hear business owners at Downtown coffee shops, clothing stores, cannabis dispensaires and news stands deliver a message to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Owners reactions ranged from supportive to critical of the President, but business owners were eager to make their voices heard.

Sign painter Derek McDonald leaves his mark on the Oakland landscape

Despite not attending art school, Derek McDonald’s art has permeated much of the local visual landscape, from gold leafed yacht names in the Emeryville Marina to local bar placards to the vintage signs at Oakland’s Fairyland park for children. At his West Berkeley studio, Golden West Sign Arts, McDonald stays true to the tradition of sign painting without any digital assistance.

Circus Bella brings a traditional outdoor one-ring circus to Oakland

A circus has come to town—a dancer rounds dozens of hula-hoops on her hips, one woman swings from a trapeze, another treads a fine line on the slack rope, and a clown puts up a formidable act for the audience. Meet A circus has come to town—a dancer rounds dozens of hula-hoops on her hips, one woman swings from a trapeze, another treads a fine line on the slack rope and a clown puts up a formidable act for the audience. Meet Circus Bella, a one-ring outdoor circus comprised of 13 troupe members and several live musicians.

Through Power Soccer, an athlete in a wheelchair takes home a gold medal

When Kendra Scalia-Carrow discovered the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program’s (BORP) Power Soccer group in 2006, she had no interest in joining the team. The 28-year-old, who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, had never played a sport. But as soon as she kicked the ball, she was hooked.

In 2009, Scalia-Carrow, an Americans with Disabilities Act program analyst for the city of Oakland, decided to try out for the U.S. National Power Soccer team. Despite having only played the sport for three years, Scalia-Carrow was chosen as one of only eight players on the starting roster at the 2011 FIFPA World Cup in Paris.